


A Perfect Day for Alphonse

by LiteratureWork



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: happy birthday alphonse, post promise day, the quiche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:14:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiteratureWork/pseuds/LiteratureWork
Summary: Alphonse didn't know that one person could feel so happy. He guessed it was because he forgot what it felt like.





	A Perfect Day for Alphonse

**Author's Note:**

> This was a quick one shot I wrote up while at work and thought I would post it. When the word 'perfect' popped into my head so did the title of the short story 'A Perfect Day for a Banana Fish' by J.D. Salinger did. Though that story has absolutely nothing incommon with this one, I liked the title.

**_A Perfect Day for Alphonse_ **

Alphonse stared out of the window at the blue Central sky. It might have been his mind playing tricks on him, or it might have been him adjusting to his eyes but the sky seemed bluer than normal. The soft marshmallow clouds were fluffier than he had always imagined them to be and the celestial world, it seemed, was at peace. It was foolish poetry, he knew, but the world just felt right. The type of right where even the smallest worries were washed away. It was only the other day he didn’t think he would ever feel calm again.

                Everything that day was perfect. The warm sunlight glittering through the open hospital window, the smoothing breeze that rustled the silky white curtains, even the blankets that were draped and tucked tightly around him, ones that felt more like sandpaper on his tender and delicate skin, were all perfect just the way they were. He took a deep breath of this small room sized utopia and leaned his head back farther into his soft pillow that his brother had gotten him just to let him feel something that didn’t come from the hospital’s supply closet. The joy that he felt in these quiet moments alone in his room were not like that which a little child gets on Yule’s eve. The happiness he felt was like the realization one’s body receive after falling down on a bed after a long and tiring hike. It was the sense of relief gotten not by receiving a gift, but by leaving something he had been carrying behind. He was glad to let it go.

                The armor had trapped his soul for many years, but his mother’s death had ensnared him for many more. The sleepless nights inside of cold steal amplified the pain and regret he withheld from his brother that one October night when they were young. He couldn’t feel the weight on his shoulders because he couldn’t tire. He didn’t acknowledge the hurt because his mind would wander. Alphonse only realized how much of the world he had been through, after the melancholy had left him. He would have liked to ponder his thoughts he remembered thinking every night when everyone else was in bed, but the relief of leaving them behind was too great at that moment that he didn’t dare wander where a return wasn’t ensured. For now, he let himself recover in the hospital in bliss.

                Alphonse closed his eyes even though he wasn’t tired. He had spent countless hours recovering from his malnourishment and nearly all of them he had spent unconscious. The doctors had feared and onset case of narcolepsy, but Alphonse just had to assure them that he just really needed a nap after a long day. Now, he relaxed in the warmth of the day, loving every sense of it.

                A sudden giggling and hush of voices outside of his hospital room door aroused Alphonse from his peaceful rest and turned his attention from the stillness of his small utopia towards the movement that shattered his illusion. He could see the small movement of shadows beneath the gap of the door and the very top of his brother’s head through the small glass window on it. There was someone else with him but who, he could only guess.

                “Do we just go in?” a woman’s voice asked but she was quickly shushed by his brother and another softer mimicking tone.

                “Shh, it’s a surprise-“

                “You got it cleared by the nurses?”

                “Of course I did! I wasn’t about to-“ Edward continued to try and muffle their voices but the surprise was ruined by a very impatient little girl.

                “Little brother!” Elicia screamed as she sprinted through the door way of the hospital room looking around for the familiar sight of the suit of armor. It took Alphonse a couple seconds to even register the young girl’s presence and a few more to acknowledge the small hurt to his pride when the young girl did not recognize him.

“I-It’s me, Elicia,” Alphonse said quietly, trying to hide the sudden hurt to his peace as the large green eyes turned towards him. There was a confused look on the young girl’s face lasted only a couple seconds before the smile she originally had been wearing when she ran in screaming came back ten fold. She threw her little arms out wide and screamed once more.

“Little brother!” she exclaimed, racing forward and making a hassle of climbing up on his bed. Alphonse tried his best not to let her fall off and to make space for her beside him which was quite a feat with what small amount of strength towards him. Her body was warm against his, warmer than the sunlight that streamed through the window. Her little hands suddenly started to push and move his face around, the awe in her eyes as she tried to reconfigure his appearance to resemble his previous armored form. “You are little!” she chuckled as Alphonse reached up and gently pulled her hands away from his face. He smiled back weakly.

“Aren’t I technically your older brother?” he asked.

“Happy Birthday, little brother!” the sudden cheering came as Edward and Mrs. Hughes quickly followed the young girl in. Alphonse’s eyes widened suddenly at the small group that was quickly filing in. He was pelted with a sudden stream of colors from a single red balloon and a bow topped box. In his stay in the hospital he had never seen such bright colors. Everything was white and the most color he got was from the changing colors of the painted sky. The small unexpecting gifts shimmered in the light like he never saw before. Of course he knew these colors, but through eyes, his own real golden eyes, they looked so much better than he ever remembered them. He felt the weight of the box as it was set on his lap and Edward quickly ran around the edge of the bed to tie the string of the balloon on the railing closest to him. The balloon bobbed up and down as he moved it, making playful fun of it all.

“Wh-what?” Alphonse gasped as he reached up to tug on the string, making the balloon move and flutter around some more.

“Happy birthday!” Edward exclaimed once more like he didn’t hear him the first time. “I know it isn’t the most exciting party but given the circumstances-“

“It’s my b-birthday?” Alphonse stumbled as he realized exactly how lost in time he was. “I guess I forgot.” Edward smiled back at him though Alphonse caught a small sad catch in his eyes. His brother tugged uncomfortable on his right sleeve for a second as he seemed to try and find the nerve to continue. He settled with a shaky chuckle.

“Yeah! Congrats little bro, you are officially 15 years old!” he announced as if Alphonse forgot how old he was. If he hadn’t kept track of the years, and reminded himself every day, he would have forgotten that as well. Being in a suit of armor, his life was full of reminders to keep himself sane.

“And what a young strapping man you have become,” Mrs. Hughes smiled. She rested her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, which only made Alphonse blush. Of course, the compliment had double meaning. Mrs. Hughes was very glad to see him back to normal. He was probably very different from what she expected. However, strapping was not the word he would have used. He was gaining weight but still very thin. His bones were still pronounced more than they should have. He probably looked more like a skeleton than a boy, but a skeleton was so much better than a suit of armor.

“I know… we haven’t really celebrated your birthday over the last few years and this isn’t really a big party or anything to make up for it but-“

“Ed, you’re an idiot,” Alphonse said so plainly his older brother was taken back so violently the smile was smacked from his face. “It’s perfect.”

And it was. Alphonse hadn’t had a real birthday in years but he never grew accustomed to throwing overly large parties. There was always too many people around for a large suit of armor to walk around freely. Now, though he was small and confined to his bed by his inability to hold himself up, a large party still didn’t seem to be in his taste. Every smile in the room was for him to see and equally return. Everything about this small surprise was perfect, just like his room, his bed, and the extremely blue sky.

“Come on, Alphonse, why don’t you open your present?” Mrs Hughes suggested, reminding him of the box that laid across his lap. It was oddly warm which gave him no hint as to what laid inside. Alphonse looked at it, eyes wide as he fingered the paper lightly. The swell of curiousity urged him to tear it open but the blank sense of relief he remembered told him to wait. He didn’t want this feeling to be over so quick. He didn’t want to waste it. If he learned anything, it was that every moment was precious, and every second more so. Happiness didn’t stay around forever but he knew it would always be back sometime again.

Alphonse looked down towards Elicia where she was sitting beside him on the edge of anticipation. He nudged her lightly, turning her eyes from the colorful box up to him.

“Would you like to help me?” he asked. The joy in her eyes lit up as her smile grew to new bounds. She clapped her hands eagerly and set to work on the paper. Alphonse slowly followed her, taking great care to unfold the ends while she tore into it. He wanted her to help him so that he could enjoy the moment longer. Instead it went by faster than expected but the smile on her face made up for his mistake.

Beneath the wrapping paper was a white box like one would use to house a hat or pastries. Alphonse looked up curiously from it to the other two in the room and they returned it with far too innocent smiles. Edward motioned him forward to open it and Alphonse slowly lifted the lid.

He was instantly hit with a blast of warm sweet smelling steam and Alphonse felt himself melt with it as he inhaled the wonderful smell of cooking. That alone brought tears to his eyes. He quickly shut the box as his chest began to tighten like his heart was growing too big for it. He didn’t know what lied inside but smelled so good. His mind couldn’t handle the overwhelming joy of what was before him. It was food. Solid food. He hadn’t had anything solid to eat since he was ten. The hospital had him drinking plain, bland broth that was nothing more than nutrient filled water. The thought of even eating again hadn’t occurred to him until that moment. He didn’t expect it to be so good.

Taking a deep breath, Alphonse opened the box all the way. A beautifully cooked golden quiche laid beneath the lid, still hot from the oven it was cooked in. Mrs. Hughes must have ran it over the instant she was done making it. Alphonse stared at it for a long time as the world seemed to slow around him. His eyes began to water the more he stared at the entrancing delicacies before him. His hands quickly flew to his mouth to muffle the sob that suddenly escaped him unexpectedly, startling everyone around him. Warm salty tears flowed down his cheeks, and he knew that even with all his might he couldn’t stop them from falling.

“Little brother? Are you okay? Don’t be sad,” Elicia asked, concern flooding over her face instantly. It seemed, that even though she grew older, the complexity of emotions were still and enigma to her. Alphonse couldn’t speak. He didn’t have the words to. Instead he furiously nodded his head, forcing the smile onto his face that was hidden beneath his tears. A calloused hand suddenly ruffled his hair gently and Alphonse blindly looked up towards his older brother.

“I remembered the list you kept on all of the foods you wanted to try. I know this wasn’t the very top of the list but… we got to start somewhere,” he softly said. Alphonse flung his arms out and encircled his brother in them. Edward had to steady him with one hand and keep the quiche from falling to the ground with the other. It wasn’t a strong hug, but it was the strongest his weak arms could endure and meant so much more than that.

“Th-thank you. Th-thank you,” Alphonse cried. The wonderful feeling of bliss engulfing him so much he couldn’t make sense of it. Edward patted him on the back reassuringly as he slowly lowered him back down on the bed.

“I got it cleared by the nurses. They are allowing you to eat solid food today but only a little bit,” Edward chuckled.

“For a second there I thought you didn’t want it!” Mrs. Hughes exclaimed lightly with a laugh at Alphonse’s sudden emotional outburst. He furiously began to wipe his eyes in embarrassment though nothing he did could wipe the smile off of his face.

“If he’s getting this worked up over just seeing it, I wonder what will happen when he actually tastes it!” Edward laughed which made Alphonse only blush more. The sound of everyone’s laughter resonated through his ears and tickled his throat. His mouth hurt from smiling so long but he didn’t think the pain would make him stop. He looked around and took in all he could; the honey filled smiles of the few faces around him, some from the only family he had left, others from the family he had made himself. Their lives looked brighter, like the sun was blessing them with the beautiful perfection of that day. Alphonse knew it had to be so because he had never felt this happy a day in his life. He felt free from everything that had caught him the years before and he thought that maybe, it was all going right. The good kind of right seen only in snapshot photos.

“It’s perfect” Alphonse found himself breathing. “Oh my god, it’s perfect. Everything.”

And it was.


End file.
